A 40th anniversary screening of a classic Scottish film and an Alfred Hitchcock double bill are among the cinema highlights of this year’s Outwith Festival.

The movies screen at the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline as part of the programme which brings live music, creative arts, talks and more to venues across the city from September 3-7.

Restless Natives celebrates its landmark anniversary with a special screening which includes a Q&A with Bruce Watson from Big Country who created its soundtrack. He will be in conversation with BBC Radio Scotland’s Nicola Meighan after the screening on September 6.

The film, which was adapted into a stage musical earlier this year, follows two Edinburgh teenagers who chance their luck at holding up tourist buses, and go on to become modern-day folk heroes.

Outwith Festival hosts a 40th anniversary screening of Restless Native

placeholder image — Outwith Festival hosts a 40th anniversary screening of Restless Native

Outwith also celebrates the 100th anniversary of Hitchcock’s his first completed feature film, The Pleasure Garden with a double-bill of work from his early British period - The Lodger (1927), and a 90th Anniversary screening of The 39 Steps on September 6. The Lodger will feature a live musical score performed by one of Scotland’s most accomplished silent film musicians, Mike Nolan.

With over 40 years experience as a performer, composer and musical director, he has composed and improvised for silent film since 1994, including appearances at Hippfest in Bo’ness,and, Edinburgh International Film Festival.

The 39 Steps will feature an exclusive introduction from Ursula Buchan, granddaughter and biographer of John Buchan, author of the original novel.

The festival will also celebrate 150 years since the birth of the celebrated Scottish writer who grew up in Fife, with Ursula also appearing in person on Friday, September 5 to discuss her grandfather's extraordinary body of work.

Hitchcock's classic, The 39 Steps screens at Outwith.

David Smith, who leads the Outwith film strand, said: “We're always keen to showcase the best of Scottish cinema at Outwith. Following the sell-out success of our Bill Forsyth retrospective in 2024, where we reunited the cast of Gregory’s Girl, we knew we had to think of something special once again. The 40th anniversary of Restless Natives is the perfect opportunity to celebrate another Scottish classic, and where better than in the home of Big Country?” He added: “We're also thrilled to be paying tribute to a true icon of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock. His early work is some of his most innovative and exciting, and to screen The Lodger with live musical accompaniment is such a rare treat. It’s an extraordinary piece of filmmaking, but the live score will really elevate the experience and I believe it will be one of the highlights of the festival.”

For junior film fans, there will be two screenings of short films, screened in partnership with Discovery Film Festival and Dundee Contemporary Arts - Shorts for Wee Ones, and Shorts for Families. These colourful and thought-provoking tales from around the world are the perfect introduction to the cinema for children.

The Outwith short film night will round out the programme, offering a vibrant line-up of short films and the chance to network with filmmakers at the festival's closing night drinks.

Tickets are available now at outwithfestival.co.uk